Tuesday, April 27, 2010
If you smoke too much 'blame your genes'
If you smoke too much 'blame your genes', say experts
A nicotine addiction drives some people to smoke more than others
Smokers who find it hard to cut down or quit may be able to blame their genes, new research suggests.
Scientists identified three genetic mutations that increase the number of cigarettes people smoke a day.
And several genes appear to dictate how likely you are to take up smoking and how easily you can quit.
Three separate studies collected data from 140,000 people, with the results published in the journal Nature Genetics.
A previous study two years ago found a common single-letter change in the genetic code linked to nicotine addiction and lung cancer risk.
This new research confirms this discovery and also pinpoints two more genetic variants that seem to increase cigarette consumption among smokers.
Lung cancer risk
The new single-letter mutations, known as single nucleotide polymorphisms or SNPs, lie in regions of the DNA molecule containing genes believed to influence nicotine addiction.
Smokers who want to quit should not wait for treatment tailored to their genetic make-up
Amanda Sandford, ASH
In smokers, each copy of the variants was associated with a small increase in smoking consumption equivalent to about half a cigarette a day.
However they also conferred a 10% increase in lung cancer risk, raising questions about their effect.
It is not clear whether the variants simply drive people to smoke more, or increase susceptibility to cancer as well.
The University of North Carolina, Oxford University and Icelandic company deCODE were all involved in the research.
Dr Kari Stefansson, researcher and executive chairman of deCODE, stressed that smoking is bad for anyone's health.
"But it is even worse for some, and our discoveries continue to strengthen our ability to identify who those people are and give them a compelling reason to quit."
Amanda Sandford, research manager at ASH, a public health charity, cautioned that any potential benefits from this research were still a long way in the future.
"Smokers who want to quit should not wait for treatment tailored to their genetic make-up.
"There is an abundance of advice and treatments available already to help people stop smoking," she said.
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This article is not necessarily saying if you have parents that are smokers that you will automatically become one as well. However, there are genes that have been proven to be passed on causing to be more seseptable to addiction.
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This is actually quite refreshing news, my stepfather has been battling with smoking and quitting attempts for decades, and has seem to lost the will to try, blaming it on himself. Maybe this article will shed some new hope for him, well he realizes that it may have been, to some extent, out of his control.
ReplyDeleteI actually don't believe that smoking is brought down in your genes. Both of my grandparents smoked their entire lives and that never drove either of my parents to smoke or me at that. I think choosing to smoke is all on yourself and i don't believe that your genes have anything to do with it.
ReplyDeleteim not sure if i agree with this. my friends whole family smoked at one point or another except for one cousin who has never tried it. i smoked for ten years a one day was just able to quit cold turkey. i believe it has to do with if you really want to quit and if you really want to smoke. yes it might be different if you have an additctive personality already but it is still possible to quit.
ReplyDeleteWow...I found this article so interesting Nicole! Thanks for telling me about it today in lab..being a smoker that has been trying to quit for months but I always seem to revert back to smoking..Both my parents are non smokers and no one else in my family smokes. Only me..so I vaguely believe that there is a positive correlation with a gene mutation and smoke. I have tried the patch, chantx and nicorette. I believe and agree with Bre the best way to quit is cold turkey!
ReplyDeleteI am not sure if i agree with this article. Sorry nicole but all my friends and family smoke and never in my life have a tried it, want to try it or thought about trying it. If this was gene related i believe i should be smoking?!
ReplyDeleteI find this article very interesting. In fact, my father has been an avid smoker since a very young age. In addition to my dad, my grandmother (his mother) was also an avid smoker. Although I have smoked before, and became addicted for quite some time, I was able to eventually quit using cold turkey (and the help of some Chantix). However, I do agree that we may inherit an "addictive" gene, I don't agree there is a correlation with parents nicotine addictions, and their offsprings. Personally, I believe it has more to do with surroundings, peers, and parents influences, not so much the actual nicotine consumption of parents.
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